The Saga Begins
by BrenRenQoI
Summary: Season Ten Ficisode serial. Season Premiere "Some Assembly Required": The dramatic conclusion to the Season Nine Finale Ficisode "End of the Line" kicks off a whole new season of mayhem amidst the unfolding of a love story of iconic proportions.
1. Chapter 1

The Saga Begins  
by Bren Ren

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Author's Note: Welcome to my shippy little universe! This is the beginning of my Season Ten Ficisode serial, "The Saga Begins". This is the conclusion of the great big epic cliff-hanger I left y'all dangling on in the prequel story, "End of the Line", and will undoubtedly make more sense if you read that first.

It's hard to summarize this story, since it's still forming, so let's just say... evil is afoot, but Lois and Clark aren't going to let a little thing like impending Armageddon slow down the development of their relationship. All will be revealed by *season's* end, but there are some wicked twists and turns, and even the odd loop-de-loop before we get there. _And again, don't expect any real "A-plot" development. All I'm writing is the odd exposition in the shippy scenes. 'Cause really, what more do ya need? ;P_

And on with the show!

{Season Ten Premiere}

{Ficisode 10-01:}

{*Some Assembly Required*}

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Opening Gambit: Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End

Friday, 5:00 p.m.

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{Previously on Smallville… Lots of clips of all the great big dramatic moments of last season—with lots and lots of shots of Lois and Clark kissing—leading up to the exciting cliffhanger finale… And Now:}

Clark held his hand out to Lois. "Do you trust me?"

She took his hand in hers and stepped closer. "It isn't my trust that's been in question."

The building's trembling intensified with every passing second. "It's time I answered your question, then." As her eyes grew impossibly wider, Clark dipped his head down to capture her lips in a firm kiss. The building suddenly began to quake violently; it was collapsing under them. He wrapped his arms tightly around Lois as he broke off the kiss.

"Hope you're not afraid of heights," Clark quipped with a wink. And then they shot straight up into the air as the roof crumbled beneath, releasing a super-sized fireball that missed them by microseconds.

"Clark!" Lois had to shout at the top of her voice just to hear herself over the roar of the wind. She gaped at him, her eyes wide with sheer amazement.

"It's okay, Lois." Clark spoke calmly and clearly over the wind. "I've got you."

"Well, obviously!" Her rolling eyes clearly communicated her sarcasm if he'd somehow missed it in her voice through the roaring air. "But who's got you? And just when were you going to tell me about the flying part?"

"You don't have to scream, Lois I can hear you just fi—…flying?" Clark's face froze for a moment. "Did you say flying?" He looked down and only then realized that their trajectory was no longer a sharp ascent, but they weren't descending either. They were, in fact, sailing through the air parallel to the earth far, far below. "I'm flying!"

Exuberant joy radiated from the very core of Clark's being. Lois just kept gaping at him, her astonishment and awe growing by leaps and bounds, as he shot his fist into the air, whooping for joy and pouring on speed.

"Whoa, sailor! Remember the mere mortal in your arms?" She was clinging to him pretty fiercely at this point and had nearly screamed right in his ear. Their flight immediately slowed as Clark turned a slightly sheepish face down to kiss her lightly.

"Got a little excited," he told her apologetically.

She held his smile for a beat then glanced around, scanning their surroundings for a heartbeat or two before returning her sparkling gaze back to him. "Little wonder," she finally replied, only a little breathlessly. "But we've really gotta save it for later. We still have a couple of maniacal bad guys to take down."

Clark laughed, turning his head to glance sidelong with disbelief. "You are amazing. I have never met anyone so—

"So what?" she huffed.

"One-track minded," he answered, eyes twinkling and voice teasing.

"Don't even try to act like you don't love that about me." He didn't have to look at her to clearly picture the challenge on her face.

"You know I do," he answered.

She tucker her head into the crook of his neck. "Do you ever get tired of always saying just the right thing?"

Clark pulled her face back to his, pressing their foreheads together as he answered, "I sure hope not." He kissed her once more, not quite lingering, but in no hurry, either.

Seconds later, or perhaps two or three lifetimes later, Clark brought them to the roof of the Daily Planet with a smooth landing. Clark gently lowered Lois to the ground, but held her tightly suspended in his arms as her feet made contact with the solid plane beneath them; gravity held no influence on her as Clark continued to support the entirety of her weight. For another lifetime or two, or perhaps just a brief moment, they simply stood together with mesmerized gazes mingling between them.

Lois drew in a slow flow of air, filling her lungs completely. "Wow." Every last molecule she'd just sucked in came rushing right back out with that exaltation.

"Yeah," Clark barely managed the husky agreement.

"I'm getting the feeling you haven't done that before," Lois mused.

"No," he acknowledged. "That was a first."

"Wow!" Lois repeated the exclamation with even greater adulation. "I know I have a bigger vocabulary than this, but… Wow."

"Well, you've always preferred actions over the, uh, touchy-feely words," Clark replied with a cheeky smirk.

"Actions do speak louder than words, you know," Lois countered. The she reached up with both hands and pulled his head down for one deliriously thorough kiss. Then Clark's phone began to ring, as did Lois's. "Chloe," she informed Clark as she opened her phone.

"And Oliver," Clark replied as he answered his.

"They did it again." The words were all but synchronously spoken by both Oliver and Chloe. Lois and Clark exchanged wryly amused smirks.

"Did what?" This time it was Clark and Lois who answered together. Lois rolled her eyes at Clark.

"Hold on," Chloe jumped in. "This is going to drive us all nuts in about two seconds. Oliver."

Oliver's voice came through clearly on Clark's line, but Lois could hear him well in the background of hers. "They pulled off the impossible while they had us looking the other direction."

"You mean this was just another distraction?" Lois snapped.

"You got it in one," Chloe confirmed.

"What was the real target?" Clark asked, his foreboding tone hitting everyone full force.

"You're not going to believe this." Chloe paused for dramatic effect. "Lex Luthor."

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{Somebody *SAAAAVE* Me!}

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	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, folks. RL derailed my fic-writing intentions over the holidays. Thankfully, the season has ended, so we can all get back to the important things in life--like passing the time till this blasted hiatus is over with loads of Lois & Clark fanfic goodness! And we're off... like a herd of wild tortoises...

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Act One: Out of the Frying Pan

Friday, 7:30 p.m.

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"Triple espresso mocha," Clark announced as he passed the steamy beverage to a weary-eyed Lois, who immediately chugged several healthy swallows. Then Clark produced a small white paper bag. "And two maple donuts."

"Not exactly the candlelight dinner you promised me," Lois snarked as she opened the bag.

Naturally, the world's best boyfriend whipped out a little white votive candle and set it on the desk in front of Lois. After a quick glance around the nearly empty office to make sure none of the few remaining staff were paying them any heed, he shot a tiny burst of heat from his eyes and the candle flickered to life, its small flame dancing before Lois's mesmerized gaze. "A girl could get used to that," she murmured after a moment.

"I promise we'll get you something a little more substantial to eat later," Clark told Lois as he moved his chair around to the corner of her desk. "But for now, that'll at least keep your blood sugar up."

For a split second, her eyes shot up tinted in ire. But before the challenge fully formed in her gaze, her eyes softened and she smiled as Clark held her stare. Finally, she let out a small sigh. "I guess I should just be grateful the doc didn't put me on any caffeine restrictions."

"Now that," Clark dead-panned, "would have been a fate worse than death. For both of us."

Before Lois could form a properly stinging retort, her desk phone rang. She settled for a withering glare at Clark as she answered. "What've you got for us?" Lois asked after hearing her cousin's greeting. As Chloe informed her that she'd emailed several satellite images and other files to Lois's Planet account, Lois quirked her brow at Clark, quickly surmising that he was listening to both sides of the conversation. Just before turning her attention to her monitor, she caught a distinctly rosy tint warming Clark's cheeks as Chloe signed off with a parting shot bidding Lois good luck in keeping Clark grounded.

"So how long has Chloe known?" Lois asked, keeping her eyes glued to her computer screen as she pulled up the files Chloe had just sent.

"A while," Clark answered, slightly chagrin.

Lois glanced up just long enough to catch a glimpse of worry in Clark's eyes. "I figured as much," she told him as she focused again on the screen in front of her.

"Really?" She didn't see the mild surprise crinkling his eyes, but it was impossible to miss it in his voice.

"You two have been friends forever. I'd be more surprised if she hadn't known for ages. She's not stupid." Lois paused and turned to glare at Clark dead on. "And neither am I."

"I never thought you were," Clark returned gently. "I always knew that you were aware there was a lot more going on… especially with some of the lame excuses I've had to come up with on the spur of the moment."

Lois rolled her eyes and took a nice long swallow of the potent brew in the cardboard cup. "And Chloe has always been a little too eager to help you with those weak cover stories." She paused to turn a challenging stare on Clark. "Like the 'microburst' that blew your barn door half-way across Kansas to nearly pulverize me—what was that, anyway?"

"I sneezed."

Her eyes bulged wide. "Wow." A beep from her computer alerted Lois that the files had finished downloading. She tore her gaze from Clark to focus on the monitor as she opened the files. "These are all the buildings in and around Metropolis capable of housing this facility. The detailed schematics Chloe hacked were pretty specific in the requirements—size, materials, equipment, utilities, and a whole laundry list of other various resources," Lois informed Clark as she skimmed through said files. "She sent us a time table, too, outlining the schedule for setting up the facility and running through the entire procedure. And according to this, once they get the DNA, they'll have a perfectly viable adult human clone in… Oh, god. Three days."

Clark scanned through the files from over her shoulder with a frown. "I was hoping that Chloe would narrow the search a little more. There are still over a dozen buildings on that list."

Lois turned in her seat to face Clark more directly. "Well, can't you do your super-speed thing through all the buildings and search them with your x-ray vision gizmo?"

"Vision gizmo?" Clark repeated.

Lois cocked one brow up. "Well, what do you call it?"

Clark's frown deepened. "I don't know, but vision gizmo just doesn't sound very cool."

Lois enjoyed a healthy chuckle at that. "I hate to be the one to break it to you, Smallville, but you are always going to be a bit of a geek. No matter how many cool super powers you've got up your sleeve."

Clark huffed out a slightly self-defensive little chuckle of his own as he slowly shook his head. "You're not going to have any trouble keeping me grounded, are you?"

Lois flashed a supremely confident grin at Clark. "It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it."

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	3. Chapter 3

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Act Two: Marking Time

Friday, 9:20 p.m.

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Lois was sitting at her desk, scrolling through a hodgepodge of random pictures on her computer in hopes of inspiring one of those moments-of-genius leaps of logic that could break this latest, craziest story yet. She was ready to swing off the rafters—she'd already climbed all the walls. Twice.

How long could it take a guy who could fly to check out a dozen warehouses?

Then again, this was Clark Kent she was considering. Smallville wasn't exactly known for rushing bull-headed into things. She was the one known for jumping in with both feet before even thinking about checking the water level; he was the slow, methodical type.

Right on the heel of that thought, the next image to appear on the screen was a candid shot of herself and the object of her musings at her desk. Clark was leaning over her shoulder, one hand resting on her back, and they were both focused on her monitor. It took a moment for the memory that image sparked to flare into focus in her mind's eye, and then Clark's voice replayed some long ago conversation.

"_I'm sorry, Lois. I think we're running in circles here." A sigh slipped past her lips as Lois hung her head in defeat at Clark's all too accurate words. Then his hand started gliding over her shoulder in slow, soothing circles, which instantly elicited a low moan of appreciation from Lois. "Long day," Clark murmured; she was slightly surprised at how close he'd come without her realizing. Clark shifted behind her and brought his other hand up to join in the therapeutic ministrations, and as her tension melted away beneath his sure touch, all thoughts checked out of her brain on a one way ticket due south of the border._

Slow and methodical, indeed.

The intrusion of a tell-tale ringtone halted her thoughts before they could derail into virtual Kama Sutra territory again, and Lois dug her cell phone out of her pocket.

*_I need a hero! I'm holding out for a hero till the morning light...*_ Snap**.**

"You know, I think I'm starting to miss the mystery already," Lois answered.

"I think I found it," the mechanized voice coming through the line informed her.

"Boys and their voice box toys," she snarked with requisite rolled eyes.

"Sorry, habit."

Since he wouldn't see it anyway, she didn't bother rolling her eyes a second time. "So you found the place?"

"Yeah, I think so. I'm going to check it out a little more, so I need you to meet Chloe without me." His natural voice rang out, and Clark was obviously striving to be neutral. Whatever he'd found, it was big. Super-sized, even. "I'll catch up with you at Watch Tower."

"Watch Tower?" Lois frowned. "Is that some sort of superhero code?"

"Sort of. You'll see. Let's just say it's… Chloe's clubhouse."

Clubhouse? Lois wondered briefly as to what kind of toys her cousin would stock in a clubhouse called Watch Tower. "Why am I suddenly getting the feeling that another childhood spat is about to bite me in the ass?"

"You're a big girl now, Lois. I'm sure you can handle it."

{Zod's still evil and no one ever stays dead in science fiction, blah, blah, blah…}

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	4. Chapter 4

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Act Three: Welcome to the Land of Oz

Friday, 10:13 p.m.

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Even as she exited the car, her neck was craned back as far as it could extend. Lois stood frozen on the sidewalk for a moment as she gazed up stories upon stories of tall building at the face of the clock so large she could clearly make out the time on its display from ground level—right to the exact minute.

"It's the highest room in the tallest tower." The teasing voice abruptly caught Lois's startled attention.

"Do you keep a dragon in there too?" Lois sniped back at her ex's mischievous countenance.

"Only the virtual kind," Oliver answered gamely. "Welcome to the club."

Lois harrumphed a loud "Humph" complete with a derisive snort. "Funny."

Oliver extended a bent arm toward Lois. "Ready for the nickel tour?"

Lois cast him a critical stare for a couple of beats before granting resigned acceptance. With a roll of her eyes, she grabbed a handful of Ollie-elbow and dragged him to the front door—where she waited impatiently for Mr. Queen's delayed sense of chivalry to kick in and hold the door for her like a civilized gentleman. Now Oliver's eyes rolled skyward as he followed her in.

Once inside the lift and ascending towards the top, Lois again fixed her dear friend with another harshly critical stare. "So… this 'club'. How long has it been going? Did you know about Clark when we were together?" Before the chagrinned confirmation even finished forming on Oliver's face, Lois barreled on full steam ahead. "Of course you knew. You've been covering for him all along, haven't you?"

"That's what friends are for," Oliver retorted defensively. "You really can't hold that against me now. It wasn't my secret to tell."

"Of course. Bro's before—"

"Don't even say it," Oliver cut in.

"It's true and you know it," Lois spat back. Suddenly her eyes grew wide as saucers. "Oh my God," she breathed. From the corner of her eye, she caught the elevator level count quite near the top floor and slammed her palm into the emergency stop. The lift came to a loud, grinding, jolting halt. "It goes both ways, doesn't it? You've always had his back… and Clark has always had yours." A wary sort of comprehension began to dawn in Oliver's eyes. He had a pretty good idea where this was going, and it wasn't going to be pretty. "Like when I first figured out that you're Green Arrow."

All Oliver could do was release a sigh of resignation. He braced himself for the next wave of the storm that was Tornado Lois, and so was quite surprisingly perplexed when Lois burst out laughing. He waited for her chuckles to subside a bit before asking, "Care to let me in on the joke?"

After one last soft chuckle, Lois shook her head slightly. "I realized as soon as I kissed him that, that Green Arrow wasn't you… But the really funny part is what happened the next morning; I enjoyed a fair few cups of coffee with Chloe positively gushing over that kiss—and I even went so far as to tell Clark that the Green Arrow could teach my beloved boyfriend Ollie a thing or two in the kissing department."

Oliver barked out a hearty laugh. "Oh, I'll bet Clark must've loved that."

Lois enjoyed his mirth with him a moment longer before restarting the lift's climb to the top. As the car resumed its ascent, Lois pinned Oliver with a wicked gleam in her gaze. "So, how long are you and my cousin going to keep clinging to this 'emotionally platonic' charade?"

Oliver shot her a rueful grin. "You'll have to ask your cousin. I'm playing by her rules. No strings—or ribbons —no complications, you know."

"Now there's a switch," Lois teased.

"Thank you, kettle," Oliver rejoined. "I seem to recall you having a super-sized hang-up about being involved with a guy who's got a secret superhero alter-ego. Something about not wanting be stuck always coming in second to the needs of the rest of the world for the rest of your life?" Lois mutely held Oliver's stare for a few beats before averting her gaze. "Still working on that one, huh?" Oliver asked gently.

Lois kept her gaze averted as she began to slowly shake her head, but the lift chiming their arrival to the penthouse level pre-empted any attempt to verbalize her thoughts. Not that she had clue one as to the answer to that disturbing question she'd managed to avoid considering in the overwhelming maelstrom of post-revelation information processing. Her brain had been continuously re-evaluating everything she thought she'd known about the Smallville farmboy Clark Kent. Quixotically, the more she pieced together, the more she felt like she didn't know him at all; she never had, and it was starting to make her just a little bit furious.

Lois's thought process came to an abrupt halt, though, as she stepped out of the elevator. "Wow." She way she breathed out the word was virtually reverent.

"I think she's impressed," Oliver quipped at her side.

"This is Chloe's clubhouse?" Her eyes seem to widen impossibly with her incredulous tone.

"Told you I'd build a better one," Chloe herself answered as she fairly strutted into view from an alcove across the span of the large main chamber.

"You win," Lois answered, throwing her hands up in mock defeat. She took in her surroundings carefully, mentally committing every last detail to memory as she moved into the heart of Chloe's Watch Tower. "Let me guess: you're not just a member of the club, you're also the founder." Chloe's face melted into an expression of sincere contrition as Lois barreled on, easily clocking a good ninety words a minute. "This is more than 'keeping Clark's secret.' This is actively aiding and abetting the perpetuation of Clark's split-personality deception. The truth is I don't really know you at all. Or Oliver. Or Clark. Especially Clark. Suddenly I'm not in Kansas anymore, and I'm surrounded by a sea of strangers with familiar faces."

{Zod is evil and on the prowl…}

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